Minnesota Timberwolves

“Derrick Rose deserves to be an All-Star.”

That’s what the Minnesota play-by-play man announced on Sunday night, when he drilled the game-winner over Mikal Bridges with 0.6 seconds left on the clock to give the Timberwolves a 116–114 win at home.

Rose and Karl-Anthony Towns led the way, each doing big damage in separate half. Towns had 26 of his 30 in the first half; Rose scored 29 of his 31 in the second, including 17 in a monster third quarter and the game-winner in the fourth.

Andrew Wiggins was hardly noticeable in the box score, other than his team-leading 40 minutes played. He scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds without an assist. It’s not clear to me what he does to deserve getting a max contract.

Minnesota is 7–6 since Ryan Saunders took over, which is modestly better than it was under Tom Thibodeau.

Tyus Jones didn’t play against Phoenix on Sunday but could be back as soon as this game. Robert Covington has been out and will remain out, part of the reason Wiggins is logging such heavy minutes and, perhaps, why he seems more passive than ever.

Phoenix Suns

Phoenix has won just twice in its last 13 games after Sunday night’s close defeat in Minnesota. It will host this rematch two days later, where the Suns have seven of their 11 total wins.

DeAndre Ayton didn’t play on Sunday due to an ankle problem. Dragan Bender instead started at center and scored 12 points with 10 rebounds, which is right around the line Ayton averages (16 and 10).

Ayton averages a double-double and shoots just about 60 percent from the field. Those are big numbers for a rookie so forgive me if I’m being too critical but I’m skeptical he’s going to be much more than a stat-stuffer in the league.

How much value does he bring to his team? According to Basketball-Reference, he has 4.5 Win Shares but how much worse would Phoenix really be without him? That’s where I struggle to see his real value. The team situation may be toxic and we certainly need to have patience but that’s the way I see him more than halfway through his rookie season.

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